Boat structure



R.- C. SABINS BOAT STRUCTURE SepL 13, 1949.

Filed July 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 INVENTOR. I ajdlfls A TTOPNEYJ'.

Sept. 13, 1949.

c. SABINS BOAT STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1945 INVEZNTOR. [Po//and C. Sofa/7.

III

A TTOR/VE Y6.

Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOAT STRUCTURE Rolland C. Sabins, Seattle, Wash.

Application July 25, 1945, Serial No. 607,024

7 Claims. 1

My invention relates to boat construction and especially to the bulwarks and deck margin structure incorporated in it. Such structure is particularly valuable for boats having metal bow and stem tank sections joined by a wooden midship section,,, as disclosed in my companion application Serial No. 543,106, filed July 1, 1944, matured into Patent 2,473,039 on June 14, 1949, but it may be employed to advantage in an otherwise conventional type of boat.

Heretofore it has been thepractice customarily to extend the frames of a boat hull upwardly substantially to the top of the bulwarks and to notch the'decking to fit around them. Shrinkage of the decking and weaving of the boat structure under the stresses of heavy weather prevented the crevices between the decking and the frames from remaining water-tight even though calked thoroughly during construction of the boat. Seepage of water through such crevices induced rotting of the frames immediately below the deck.

The strakes forming the bulwarks in a boat of conventional construction do not afford very great longitudinal stiffness, and particularly in a boat incorporating metal bow and stem tanks, as disclosed in my aforesaid patent application, it is important that the midship portion of the boat joined to the stern and bow tank sections include structure capable of withstanding large bending loads, to relieve the joints between the metal and wooden section from stress as far as possible.

It is therefore a principal object of my invention to provide a bulwark structure capable of effectively resisting great bending loads, which is structurally continuous substantially from the bow to'the stern of the boat, and preferabl is continuous entirely around the boat.

It is a further object to terminate the frames immediately below the decking of the boat and to extendsuch decking outward over the upper ends of the frames, while at the same time providing a bulwark structure which can be secured satisfactorily to the skeleton of the boat below the decking, and which will afford a construction even stronger than the conventional frame and planking bulwarks. In achieving such object a special type of bulwark construction i utilized, and this is integrated with the hull structure in a unique fashion.

Additional objects and advantages of my invention will be discussed in the following description of construction which I now prefer, but it will be appreciated that changes within the spirit of my invention may be made in the construction described hereafter.

Figure l is a side elevation view of a boat incorporating my deck margin and bulwark construction.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the midship portion of the boat showing my bu lwark structure in elevation. I

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 are fragmentary athwartships sections taken on lines 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 66, respectively, of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a side elevational view with parts broken away, and

Figure 8 is a plan view of a scupper spacing block.

The boat includes a midship portion l which may be of conventional wooden construction below the deck. Such wooden portion may be joined to a metal bow tank I0 and to a metal stern tank II in accordance with the disclosure of my application Serial No. 543,106, mentioned above, but for the purpose of the instant invention it is not necessary that the hull be of such composite wood and metal construction. The nature and arrangement of thecabin and other superstructure, with the exception of the bulwarks, is immaterial to the present invention, that illustrated in Figure 1 merely being representative.

The hull of the boat is composed of frames 2, to the outer faces of which the plankin 20 is secured as usual. The clamp 2| extends from how to stern across the inner faces of th frames and is secured to them in suitable fashion, while the outer edge of the shelf 22 abuts the inner face of the clamp. The shelf is bolted to the clamp so that the upper shelf face is coplanar with the upper edge of the clamp. The outer ends of the deck beams 23 then rest on the shelf and the clamp.

In the forward portion of the boat the fore shelf 22' is located considerably above the aft shelf and consequently does not engage the clamp 2!, but is notched appropriatel to fit around the frames,

and is bolted to them. The deck beams 23' adjacent to the rearward end of shelf 22 rest on such shelf, but the deck beams 23 farther forward are spaced asubstantial distance above the shelf 22 and are supported from the bulwarks, as will be described.

It will be noted particularly from Figures 2 and 5 that the frames 2 extend upward only to the decking of the main deck 24, which is preferably,

composed of a double thickness of waterproof plywood, each plywood layer preferably being at 7 t 3 the upper edge of the planking 20, so that its outer edge lies flush with the outer face of such planking, as shown in Figure 6. Forward and rearward of the scupper the decking 24 terminates at the inner face of the planking and the latter extends upward beyond the deck level, in the manner shown in Figure 5.

The main bulwarks 3 are of laminated construction, the joints between the laminae preferably egtending general ly vertically angl sub stantiallyj erfiei'idmulirIto the decki'ngil l; This structure will be prefabricated in sections extending along the margin of the boat deck. Thus the,, stern portion of the bulwarks may be made as afl single horseshoe section, or, if such a stffiitfifem would be too large to handle easily, in a pluralityl of curved sections which 'could be arranged end to end relationship to forrri thestrnb'ul warks. Similarly the bulwarks along the sidgs can be made in sections oi suitable length and as- 20 below t d k, The sponson 28 is then applied to emed? me a- 1 g n heb e a b: "me ma but down 't'i'ghtly.

THE 5 edge f e b lwark-s i rec sssdflaneg 4t I g huts and the upper edge of the bulwarks are covered by a cap 34 preferably of hardwoood. Although the tie bolts alone are probably adequate to anchor the bulwarks securely to the hull, the

5 bulwarks may be held against tilting by one or more knees 35 located in the angle between the buiwarks and the decking. Preferably each kne is located directly above a deck beam 23, and. may

be bolted to the bulwarks and planking covering 10 itsouter side, and .;,to the decking;as. ,c1 e'ck; beam,

andwthe'sh'elf- '22 below it; as' showh in 'gure 6. Both of the generally upright anchor bolts pass through such desk beam, and one or both of them may pas s through the shelf.

Itwillbe seen from the illustration in Figures 2 v andldthatithe.decking 24 forms a solid sheathing ollertheupper end of frames 2 and the upper ed e of theplariking"2il, thus serving as a complete protegtion for these parts from seepage of water is recessed to receive the planking so that its upper edge does not project beyond the outer side of the base. The entire outer surface of the bulwarks, including its'base, is covered by the plywood facing 36.

The upper edge of the fore bulwarks is notched at intervals to receive the ends of the foredeck beams 23 which are spiked to the bulwarks, and thus supported solely from the bulwarks. Such beams serve to tie together the upper edges of the bulwarks on opposite sides of the boat to prevent them from tilting outwardly or inwardly, and these beams are assisted by a bulkhead between the bridge deck 2'! and the foredeck 26 also interconnectingv the opposite bulwarks. In this respect the foredeck beams and such bulkhead perform a function for the fore bulwarks somewhat similar to that which the knees serve with respect to the main bulwarks.

The decking 26 extends entirely across the upper edge of the fore bulwarks, as shown, to protect the edges of the bulwarks plies from the weather. Forward of intermediate deck 21, therefore, the upper edge of the forward bulwarks will be recessed to receive the decking 26, or a filler piece will be applied to the bulwarks behind the foredeck, so that its upper surface will be flush with the upper edge of the fore bulwarks in the region of the intermediate deck. The cap strip 31' will then lie flat against the upper edge of the bulwarks rearwardly of the foredeck and will form a marginal or bulwarks strip forward of the intermediate deck. Preferably the cap piece 31' projects a substantial distance beyond the outer side of the bulwarks, and. a facing strip 39 may be secured over the edge of the decking to protect it, the outer side of such strip preferably being disposed substantially flush with the outer edge of cap strip 31, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

It will be seen that with a construction of the type described extending entirely around the boat, the bulwarks are very substantial, are securely attached to the hull, and are well braced so that they are not likely to be injured by striking a dock or other object. Although the decking is allowed to extend outward to cover and protect from the weather the frame ends and other structure below it, my bulwark structure is even stronger than the conventional type. Moreover,

the bulwark structure, being very rigid and extending continuously from the bow to the stern, constitutes an eflicient beam which stiffens the boat over its entire length without occupying appreciable space useful for cargo or other purposes. Expecially is this type of construction desirable in a boat such as disclosed in my application Serial No. 543,106 incorporating metal tanks as bow and stern sections. Despite the structural advantages and protection against seepage of water afforded by my invention, the bulwarks can be prefabricated economically by being formed exactly to the desired curvature to conform with the lines of the boat before they are installed. Thereafter it is merely necessary to secure them in place by the hooked tie bars, lag screws and spikes in the manner described above.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a boat hull structure, upright frames, an exterior wall secured to said frames, a clamp element extending lengthwise of the hull and secured to said frames, decking above said clamp and extending outward above the upper ends of said frames to said exterior wall, bulwarks above said decking, and hooked tie rods having lower hooked ends in hooked engagement with said clamp, extending upward between said frames and through said decking, and secured to said bulwarks to anchor them firmly to the hull.

2. In a boat hull structure, decking, hull framework beneath said decking, bulwarks above said decking, scupper spacing blocks interposed between the upper surface of said decking andthe lower side of said bulwarks to support the latter from said decking, and tie rods, each pass- 4 ing through said decking and a scupper block, 10-

cating said scupper blocks relative to said deck-- ing, the lower ends of said tie rods being secured to said hull framework, and the upper ends of said tie rods being secured to said bulwark to anchor them firmly to the hull.

3. In a boat hull structure, upright frames,

planking secured to said frames and forming an exterior hull wall, a clamp element extendinglengthwise of the hull and secured to the sides of said frames opposite said planking, decking above said clamping and extending outward above the upper end of said frames and across the upper edge of said planking, bulwarks above said decking, scupper spacing blocks interposed between the upper surface of said decking and the lower side of said bulwarks to support the latter from said decking, and hooked tie rods having lower hooked ends in hooked engagement with said clamp, extending upward between said frames and through said decking, each tie rod passing through a scupper block to locate it relative to said decking, and the upper ends of said tie rods passing upward through said bulwarks and being secured thereto to anchor them firmly to the hull.

4. In a boat hull structure, upright frames, planking secured to said frames and forming an exterior hull wall, a clamp element extending lengthwise of the hull and secured to the sides of said frames opposite said planking, decking including two superposed plywood layers, disposed above said clamp and extending outward above the upper end of said frames and across the upper edge of said planking, bulwarks above said decking, and composed of a plurality of laminations secured together by joints extending generally vertically, circular scupper spacing blocks interposed between the upper surface of said decking and the lower side of said bulwarks to support the latter from said decking, and hooked tie rods having lower hooked ends in hooked engagement with said clamp, extending upward between said frames and through said decking, each tie rod passing through a scupper block to locate it relative to said decking, and the upper ends of said tie rods passing upward through said bulwarks and being secured thereto to anchor them firmly to the hull.

5. In a boat hull structure, decking, hull framework beneath said decking, main bulwarks above and supported by said decking and stopping short of the stem of the hull, means passing through said decking and directly interconnecting said main bulwarks and said hull framework beneath said decking, operable to anchor said main bulwarks firmly to the hull, fore bulwarks above said main bulwarks and having their aft end extending rearwardly into a position overlying and supported by the forward end of said main bulwarks, the forward end ofsaid fore bulwarks being supported by said hull framework independently of said main bulwarks, and means securing the aft end of said fore bulwarks to the forward end of said main bulwarks.

6. In a boat hull structure, decking, hull wnmmhtw ocfi=1 aiminations; :seeure dz:

. inzts :extendingzgeneraily weriaicallye sms d anew andzz supported; byusaid i decking ld'i i pnin ifihfi taofzthfifitem of; the :hulkameans; 5 paingxth fflughsaid;ideckinggand:directlmfintere qmeqt n z sa d: main ;bulwa.rks.-- and said hum. ram wmtk. ne th: saida; decking, opera-bled to; etmr aid; .aimbulwarks-fixmlyitqjthe hulliTOre ward end of said maimbulwarks=,= .theefotwardiend: i154.

- ,wQ ikrrindependently of saiwmainlbulei wands means securing theiaft' endlofasaiidl bulili k i szz oe esfonwarcleendiofxsaidsmain: 1

joihtstextendingggenerally verticallm and tib passin sthrough :said decking -a,nd =having=-the1 upper portions: passing vertically .-generalIymedia1Iy=-between':-and paral-Iel t'o athe-innenandF outer faces of and substantially entirely-through said 1suninated bulwarks, andtheir lower-endssecured to said hull framework; said' bars-thereby directly: interconnecting said bulwark s and said hulllizframeworkbeneath said deckingto anchor" saidibulwarks firmly' tothe hull-.

HOLLAND c; SABINS;

REFERENCESQCITED L-v Theafollowing references care ofx record F in' tlie fileaofizthis paltentzd V T UNITED; STAYIESYPATENTSII um err Name,v Date... Rte-1173,0871 Mayo; Aug;18, ;.18685:

32,544; Van; Name .June-11, 1861 1,317 ;361 Hall-1;"; July" 11, 19333 FOREIGN PATENTS Number- Country 7 Date:

139;4Q 1=. Gl-eait Br'itainr 4, 1920; 

